Certain treatment procedures include temporary or permanent modulation (e.g., interruption, modification, stimulation, ablation, denervation, etc.) of one or more select nerve functions. One example, among many, is renal nerve ablation, which is sometimes used to treat conditions related to, for example, hypertension and congestive heart failure. In some instances, other disorders such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as chronic bronchitis) can be treated by nerve modulation.
For renal nerve ablation, a balloon catheter may be used to ablate target nerves. For example, balloons have included electronic circuits (e.g., flex circuits, etc.) attached to the balloon's outer surface with one or more pairs of electrodes connected to an internal or external power supply to deliver RF (i.e., radio frequency) energy to a target nerve. In some cases, the balloon has included temperature sensors (e.g., thermocouples, thermistors, etc.) for monitoring temperature and for feedback control to sufficiently heat the target nerves without undue overheating and consequential undue damage to surrounding tissue. In many cases, multiple heating elements and temperature sensors have made the electronic circuits complicated and have also increased the overall profile of the system. However, reducing profile of medical devices (e.g., balloon catheters, etc.) and reducing circuitry complication are ongoing needs.
Hence, there exists a need to develop robust devices and methods to deliver heat (e.g., therapeutic heat treatment, etc.) for nerve modulation with temperature control using less complicated electronic circuitry and/or with a reduced profile.